Holder for fire-extinguishers and other articles



l H; E. TUNNELL. HOLDER FOR FIRE EXTINGUISHERS AND OTHER 4AIR`IIICLES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5| 1 920.

Patented Nov; 30, I1920.

IN VEN TOR.

extinguishers and other articles which are HARRY n. TUNNE-Ln'or NEWYORK, N. Y.

HOLDER nonV FIRE-EXTINGUIsHnns AND OTHER ARTICLES.

1o all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HARRY E. TUNNELL, a citizen of the United States,and a resident ofthe borough of'Manhattan, city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements` in Holdersfor Fire-Extinguishers and other Articles, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to holders for ire to be used only on specialoccasions and which it is desirable to protect against unauthorizedhandling until a need for their use arises. The invention/` disclosedherein provides a holder which will make it impossible -for the lireextinguisher or other device to be taken out without detection, andwhich preferably will expose the said device to view even when safelycontained in Aits intact holder, it being necessary to break a portionof the holder in order-to enable-the re extinguisher or other article tobe removed therefrom. Y j n A preferred and satisfactory. embodiment ofmy invention is represented in the accompanyingidrawings, in whichFigure 1 is a vertical section of the device on line 1-1 of Fig. 3 'Fig. 2 is a partial vert-ical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 3,; Fig. 3' isa horizontal as Fig. 1, illustrating the manner of assembling theholder. A

The holder `shown in the drawings comfr prises three main parts,`v'iz:axed supporti havingA a ing member, a frangible covertherefor, and anelastic member for connecting said supporting member with said cover. f

The supporting member is cup-shaped,

'cylindrical surrounding or uprightshell 10 and a horizontal wall orledge 11 extending inwardlyfrom the bottom of the shell 10 to form asupport for 'the'fireextinguisher or other article F. I preferan Yvapertured bottom, .or a bottom ledge, as shown (although this is notessential), inasmuch as this exposes to viewv from below, the bottomofthe lire-extinguisher orV other article, enabling the inspector or theintending user to ascertain the type of apparatus contained inthe=holder.A The supporting member is, made to be secured to a wall A orthe like, as by means of screws B passing through suitable holes inbrackets 12, 12

Specification of Letters Patent.

' beveled their inner circumference willA be shortened PatentedrNov. 30,1920.

Application filed April 5, 1920. i Serial No. 371,541.

formed integral with said supporting meinbei'. In the particularconstruction shown, the brackets 12, 12, as will be seen best in Figs. 1and 8, are made 'by cutting appropriate circumferential and uprightslits in the shell 10 and bending the portions thus obtained, into theshape Q f brackets, Fig. '1 showing clearly that the upright (scalloped)edges of these brackets are counterparts, indicating' that they wereproduced by the f saine slit. At itsupper end, the supporting member hasa circular opening 13, and at a short distance below the same, anannular internal groove 14 of greater' diameter than said opening, andstill farther down, an annular .ledge or surface l5, of smaller innerdiameter than the opening 13, so as to form a support in the path of thecover when the latter is introduced through said opening. Y,

The cover16 `is made of glass or other suitable frangible `material,preferably transparent so that the upperxpart'of the fire-extinguisheror other article F will Vbe visible therethrough. vThis cover is shown,dome-shaped, with its lower edge portion 16 adapted to become seated onthe support 15. 'Above the edge 16, the cover is provided with anexternal annular projection oil bead 16" the outer diameter of which isslightly smaller than the diameter of the opening13, so that the covermay be readily introduced into the upper portion of the supportingmemberv and made to rest on the support 15.

To hold the cover 16 inthe position illustrated, I provide a splitlocking or connect-` ing ring 17, made of spring steel or other elasticmaterial, and having a tendency to expand to the diameter shown in Figs.1, 2, and 8, and indicated by dotted lines in Fig. Preferablythe ends ofthe ring 17 are or tapered in such a manner that while their outer'circumference will remain unaltered, as indicated at 17 in Fig. 3; thisenables the ring to be contracted more readily .and provides anadditional safeguard t against tampering, as explained hereinafter. Thediameter of the openinghl should be slightly greater than thedimension ob- Y tained by adding twicethe thickness of the ring 17 tothediameter of the upper or body portion of the cover 16. -Also, thegreatest external diameter of the bead 16 should be Y Vcylindrical upperor greater thesmallest internal diameter of the ring 17 when the latter'is in its eX- panded condition.

To assemble the holder, after the fire-ex- A tinguisher or other articlehas been placed on the support l11, the cover 16 is rested on thesupport 15, and the ring 17, in its ex pande'd condition, is slippeddown over the cover 16. In its normal expanded condition, the ring 17cannot enter the opening 13 (see dotted lines in Fig. 4:), but. bycontracting the ring forcibly, it can be Vbrought into said opening, asillustrated by. i'ull lines in Fig. 4. By then pressingthe Yring 17down,

it willfbe carried into registry `with the groove 14:, and since theYring tends to expand, it will snap intosaid groove, thus assuming thelocking position illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, and 3. In this position, thering Y 17 will prevent removal oi' the cover 16 from since any upwardthe' supporting member,

force the ring 17 pull on the cover will only more firmly into thellocking recess or groove 14 by a we dging action.

VThe only way the Y other articles contained :in the holder can beremovedfis to. break the coverf16.` As long as the cover is whole, thisshows that the article has not been taken out sinceV such cover wasplaced in position. My invention provides an effective safeguard againstyunauthorized use of the fire-extinguisher or.

other article,

in that it is impossible to take the apparatus out of its holder withQutdetection, thefact that the cover is broken being presumptive evidencethat the apparatus has been tampered with, unless it is known Ythat itiwas used in a legitimate way.

My inventionalso aifords increased pro-` tection against theft of thelire-extinguisher or other article, inasmuch as the thief would have tobreak the kcover 16, and the resulting noise would attract the attentionof any person within hearing. Y j

It will 4be obvious from Fig. 3, that it would be very difficult and, in

safety against tampering of this character should bel desirable, theannular space above thering 17, between the cover 16 and the uppermostportion of the supporting member, might be filled with cement or othersuitable material, after lthe ring has been .placed Vin the positionshown in Figs. 1, and l Various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from vthe nature of my invention as set y)forth in theappended claims.

I claim as my invention: j .j

1. A holder provided with a supportffor an article,

body portion of the` hre-extinguisher or Y fact, next to impos sible topry the connecting ring 17 out ot the recess 14 so as to releasetheycover 16V witho'ut injuring it; however, if additional with anadditional support, and with an annular recess adjacent to thelastiseosee i named-support, a'cover adapted to'irest on saidadditionalI support and provided with an external bead, and an elasticconnecting ring adapted 4to'be seated in said recess and to engage saidbead to lockthe cover to the portion having said recess.l

Y2. A holder provided wtih a support. for

" an article, with an additional support, Vand with an internal recessadjacent to the lastnamed support, a cover` adapted to rest on saidadditional supportV and provided withA an` external projection, and anelasticY connecting member adapted to be seated -insaid recess-and to,engage said projection tolock the cover to the portion having saidrecess.

3. A holder provided withasupport for an article, with an additionalsupport, with an annular recess adjacent to the last-named support, andwith a portion located above said recess and surroundingan opening. a

vcover having an*v externally-beaded lower portion oi' smaller diameterthan saidV opening, and adaptedk to become seated on said additionalsupport, and an elastic ring, tending to expand,which in its normal eX-Ypanded condition is of greater-diameterthan saidA openingsaid;ringbeing adapted to iit into said recess and to engage the beadot' thecover, to lock V-thefcover to the portion having sad recess. j; Y

L1. A hol ler comprising a carrying mem@ ber havinga support for anarticle, another;A

support, an annular recess adjacent'to the lastnamed support, and anopening at the top, av lcover adapted to .rest on the secondnamedsupport andprovided with an'jeXternal projection which isfbelow the:level oi?V said opening when/,the cover. rest-son said,

support, ,Y and an elastic 'connecting ring adapted to be vseated inVsaid supporting member and-also to t againstV the external projectionofthe cover, the outside diameter ofsaid-ring, when contracted e intocontact with the bodyv of the cover, beingY less than the diameter ofsaid top openi a way that their oblique surfaces will diverge inwardly.

In `testimony whereofV I have signed this specification. a n v f. A

1 VHARRY E. TUNNELL.

Vrecess `oi the v iis

